Tik Tok on the Clock

No, not the Ke$ha song. The app.

I downloaded TikTok recently. And to no one’s surprise, I got hooked pretty fast. This app has hacked the brains of young people in 2019. It’s popularity is undeniable and participation is highly contagious. According to AdAge, TikTok had over 800 million monthly active users in October of this year, most of which are under 25 years old. It’s now the number one downloaded free entertainment app in the Apple app store. I tried to stay away for a while but I couldn’t spot it from creeping into popular culture and my other social media platforms. So I caved. At first I would stare at my phone for hours, giggling to myself like a maniac. I would go down a rabbit hole that left me in tears from genuine laughter. So I started asking myself what it was about TikTok that made it so addictive, so captivating, so entertaining. I had to know— why this app? Why now?

The obvious answer is that it’s fun. It’s goofy. It’s cute. It’s fast paced. It requires no effort in exchange for immediate gratification. The obvious answer also happens to be correct. But the context is the real kicker. The times we live in are the real reason generation Z is obsessing over this app. Because the times we live in are contentious.

People are frustrated. People are angry. People are divided. People are sick and tired…and young people are sick and tired of hearing about it. So we hopped on the first opportunity to distract ourselves. And TikTok is the modern escapist’s new getaway car. TikTok couldn’t be less contentious if it tried. A month with this app and I have yet to see anything politically charged or even mildly upsetting. Any material that’s controversial or insensitive couldn’t possibly trigger anyone to do more than just swipe to the next video. Any material about real daily struggles is framed in a way that’s cynical, borderline nihilistic, and says “fuck my life lol”. The other day I saw a super popular video where a kid was literally making a joke of listening to his fighting parents getting a divorce while he played Just Dance downstairs, completely withdrawn from his family’s turmoil.

This is what I (a closeted gen Z’er) suspect is both gen Z’s great gift and its curse. The ability to laugh at our daily hardships is really valuable. Because hardships will always be there. And once they’ve passed, there’s no reason to let them keep burdening you. So we move on by laughing at our pain. But that’s only useful if you face your problems head-on first. So that’s what I think the gen Z curse might be. A lot of young people feel too cynical about life, to the point where they’re nihilistic and not willing to face their problems at all. And why would they? Growing up in the 2000’s meant constantly being taught that nobody trusts the government, the planet is melting, facts aren’t real, and regular citizens have no power. So our beloved generation Z likes to laugh nervously as the hole digs itself deeper.

But that’s the pessimistic take. Here’s my positive spin.

I genuinely believe that TikTok, and similar platforms soon to come, could help heal the divides in our society. Like I said, times are contentious. A 2019 study showed that 42% of surveyed American voters characterized the opposing political party as “downright evil” (Kalmoe & Mason). We’ve gotten to the point of casually dehumanizing people with different beliefs from our own. But I think TikTok is the antidote. It has the unique proclivity to highlight the little things that connect us and make us human. We all laugh at the same stupid jokes. We all get annoyed at older people (“okay boomer”). We all love looking at cute dogs. Clearly most people, especially young people, prefer to focus on these simple pleasures instead of the hateful public discourse outside.

And why not? Maybe it’s about time in 2020 that everybody take a step back and remind themselves what we all have in common, not what makes us different.

Filip, again.